Update 22/10/25 (12 midday UK time): Sarah Perry has finished her incredible race with a new Backyard Ultra Women’s World Record of 95 laps.
Competing at the 2025 Big's Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships, she exceeded the previous world record of 87 laps, set by Megan Eckert last year.
Sarah has also set a new UK national record, bettering Matt Blackburn’s previous record of 87 laps, and was the last woman standing in the race.
She eventually finished her race after completing lap number 95 with an increasingly sore back injury.
72 runners started the race on Saturday, completing a lap of 4.167 miles on the hour, every hour. Eventually there will be just one runner left standing. Right now, just nine remain.
The men’s world record stands at 119 laps.
Sarah’s final stats: 95 laps (Women’s World Record), 395.83 miles (637.032 km), Av lap: 51:13, Last lap: 57:38.
Speaking shortly afterwards Sarah said: "I've got mixed emotions. I'm quite disappointed that my back went when everything else was working so well. I had it in my legs and my head on reaching 100 laps, something I was really fixed on, but that's ultra running.
"It's going to take a while to process it all. I just need to catch up on sleep and then process what I've achieved."
This weekend, the legendary Big’s Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships will be taking place in Tennessee, US.
Big’s Backyard Ultra, organised by Lazarus Lake (creator of the Barkley Marathons), will begin on Saturday 18 October – with 75 of the best ultrarunners heading to the States to take part in the event.
Taking to the start line is INOV8 athlete Sarah Perry, who holds the UK women’s record in the format after running 59 laps (245.8 miles) in October 2024. We caught up with Sarah before she flew out to North America to find out more about the world of Backyard Ultras, and to see how her preparations have gone ahead of the Individual World Championships.
What is the Backyard Ultra format?
The Backyard Ultra is the creation of Lazarus Lake, who also created the brutal Barkley Marathons. Big’s is named after his beloved dog, and the race held in his own backyard, which is in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.
We will all head out for a 4.167-mile loop on the hour, every hour, until one runner remains. The only similarities between the two races (Big's and Barkleys) are the required strengths of the participants: endurance, self-reliance and mental strength.
I qualified for Big’s last October by winning the UK Team Championship race, running 59 laps and setting a new UK women’s record. There were around 50 other countries holding races across the world at the same time; every winner secured a place at Big’s. The remaining 25 places are taken by those on the ‘at-large’ list which holds those runners who’ve racked up huge amounts of backyard yards.
Lazarus Lake, creator of Backyard Ultras and Barkley Marathons. Photo by David Miller.
How has your preparation for the World Championships been?
When I competed in the UK team last year, I hadn’t even considered that I might secure a place to Big’s; I was just so pleased to be there. Winning was a complete shock! I’ll be arriving at Big’s with a similar mindset, I’m very excited for the opportunity and to learn from those more experienced than myself. I would absolutely love to get a new PB, however I know that the Big’s course is much more difficult than the one at Thetford where I ran 59 laps.
With the difficulty of the course in mind, I’ve been working hard over the last few months to become stronger than ever. My training has been solid, and I am really looking forward to testing myself and seeing what I can achieve.
How do you feel about the prospect of racing on the other side of the world?
Having never competed outside of the UK before, there’s the added excitement of travelling to contend with. Since competitors are travelling from around the world, most of them will be in a similar boat. I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow competitors; some of which I have already connected with online.
I’ll be traveling to the USA with my partner Luke, and he will be tasked with keeping me in good condition over the days that I will be running. It’s no easy job and he will experience sleep deprivation and most likely boredom. We keep things logistical within the tent and mostly just discuss what I need to keep running.
He’s supported and encouraged me since my first backyard win back in 2021 so I’m glad that he will be there to share the experience.
Sarah surpassing her personal best of 59 laps.
What are your top tips for Backyard Ultra success?
My success in the Backyard format can probably be attributed to two things: endurance and mindset.
As well as being strong and able to just ‘keep running’, you need to be able to keep your head ‘in the game’. One of the best ways I have found to do this is to simply focus on the lap that I am running and never think about the bigger picture. Honestly, something about the monotony and endless ability to track numbers (miles, time and yards) really sits nicely with me and I really enjoy the format.
The format lends itself nicely to keeping on top of nutrition and hydration, as you stop every hour. My other tip for backyarders would be to deal with any issues before they arise: change your socks before you need to and tape up any hot spots before they become an issue.
Another way that I will keep my feet fresh will be by changing my shoes every now and again. I’ll be using the TRAILTALON and TRAILTALON MAX for the daytime loop and the ROADFLY MAX for the nighttime loops on tarmac. I love the MAX range for ultras as they are very comfortable, and I’ve found that the TRAILTALON series are perfect for trail ultras as they are very comfortable without compromising on grip.
I’ll be taking all my trusty INOV8 gear with me including my RACEPAC 8, PERFORMANCE HYBRID, STORMSHELL and way too many pairs of merino wool socks.
Sarah regrouping with her support team at a Backyard Ultra.
You’ll be competing amongst some of the best; what are the current Backyard Ultra records?
The current world records for the Backyard UItra are 119 laps for men and 87 laps for women. At Big’s, the course record is 108 laps. Each of these record holders will be at Big’s this year to defend their titles, and I believe we may see some records broken!
I’m one of four women that will be at Big’s and so I really hope that I can represent women well. We are always underrepresented at Backyard Ultras due to running against the men.
I’ll be flying the flag high for the girls and (hopefully) proving that we have all the skills to compete with the best in this very niche sport.
